Indians Rank China a Threat, Survey Finds

Manmohan Singh and Li Keqiang prior to a meeting at New Delhi’s Hyderabad House in New Delhi, May 20.

A new study of Indians’ views of the world shows a large majority continue to rate China and Pakistan as major threats.

The report, released Monday by the Lowy Institute of International Policy, an Australian think tank, shows the level of Indian unease about China. More than four-fifths of respondents said they saw the country as a security threat.

“The poll reveals multiple reasons for this mistrust, including China’s possession of nuclear weapons, competition for resources in third countries, China’s efforts to strengthen its relations with other countries in the Indian Ocean region, and the China-India border dispute,” the report said.

The continued distrust of Pakistan and China, two neighbors, is an obstacle to improving relations in the region. The results of the survey, based on a representative sample of 1,233 people, comes as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in India Sunday for a four-day visit, his first overseas trip since taking office in March.

Mr. Li and his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, spoke Monday of the country’s growing trade ties. But suspicion between the nations, who fought a 1962 border war, remains high. In April, India claimed China’s military had incurred onto its territory in the northwest Himalayas. It responded by mobilizing troops in the area. The standoff ended three weeks later as both sides withdrew to positions held before mid-April.

China is now India’s largest trading partner – a fact touted by both countries’ leaders as a symbol of their growing friendship. But only 31% of those surveyed by Lowy said China’s rise has been good for India.

The survey revealed that – like its government – Indians are perhaps unclear about how to respond to China’s growing power. About two-thirds of respondents said India should ally with other nations to limit China’s influence.

A similar portion of those interviewed also said India should cooperate with China to play a leading role in the world. Two-thirds of respondents said they would like relations with China to strengthen.

And there was some admiration for the way China does things. Just under half of those surveyed thought that India could learn from the way the Chinese government functions.

Of course, more people saw Pakistan as a threat (94%). But that’s not surprising given the poor state of relations between the nations since the 2008 Mumbai attacks by 10 Pakistani gunmen, which killed over 160 people. The poor showing of China shows how far India has to go to turn around their voters’ animosity toward Beijing.

The report did not touch on Chinese views of India. But here, too, there’s plenty of pessimism.

“To be honest, the two nations cannot fully restore mutual trust without resolving the border dispute, a complex issue that might linger for a while,” said a commentary piece in China’s state-run Xinhua news agency Saturday.

Despite the concerns over China, more respondents (80%-85%) found shortages of water, food and energy as bigger threats to security than a war with Beijing (73%) and Islamabad (77%).

Three-quarters of respondents said they felt optimistic about the economy, but 96% said corruption was holding the nation back.